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| Morning JOE - Trouble Calls and Installs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 20 November 2008 08:30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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To start lets go over some loose specs.
No word on the forward data carrier, I stuck with no lower then -3 much like with any cablecard. When in doubt, stick with what you know. Now that we know what we are shooting for we went about cleaning up the existing cabling. Replacing the deteriorated ground, changing out weatherd and poorly made connectors and running a fresh RG11 in place of the dogged RG6 MidSpan drop. There was also an amp inside that was powering 3 outlets. With +15/+15 at the groundblock we really couldnt guess why the amp was ever in play. As shown in the image to the right there is a line leading from the tap leg of the DC6 that was previously cut and just hanging off of the configuration. The DC6 is completely uneeded and simply just cutting more signal for no reason before it heads inside to ultimately hit another uneeded amp. Effecient cabling shouldnt be an art, but it is rarely given the consideration it deserves. New ground, connectors, housebox.
The fitting to the left is sucked out. Majorly sucked out. This connector is shown above, coming from the 2way into the home. This is paerhaps what warranted the amp that we removed. However cutting a new fitting might have been a little more effecient. Working smart not hard. Words were never more true. Sucked out fittings are generally caused by careless connector prepping but can also be caused by extreme weather conditions that force the dialectric to retract back into the well of the fitting. This compromises the integrity of the signal isolation and usually pulls the center conductor or "Stinger" out of the port it is seated in. Be it a tap port or groundblock/splitter port.
Still with me? Now that our cabling is effecient and clean once again, On to the meat of the install. Provisioning.
Now that our cable is up to spec, our signal is where we want it and we are satisfied with the state of things we can get on to the part of the install that is new to all of us. Provisioning a Tru2Way set.
Now, provisioning itself isnt new. And provisioning a cablecard isnt new either. Provisioning a Television IS new. And requires quite a few added steps to ensure all bases are covered. Ill outline loosly step by step the propsed process currently in place. I have to assume as Tru2Way hits more markets this process will be shaved down and some of it automated. As of now the documents we installed off of have a HUGE watermark on them. DRAFT. And lll tip my hat, they were dead on and poorly reproduced in this article. With the TV OFF-
11:55am- Once you are on with TAC you will be asked dozens of questions and required to update your agent with what you see on the screen. First off, as
Once Tac has entered the serial number for the card they will then ask for three IDs off of the Tru2Way set. These are located midway down the rightside of the FlatScreen, rear lip. Host ID. Mac ID. eMAC ID. All three will need to be provided to TAC and placed onto the accounts equipment inventory. 12:15pm- Now that our card is added and the Televisions HOST ID and various other data is also added the TV is turned on. It immediatly starts its own set up. This is a 6 step process the TV will automatically cycle through. !!!IMPORTANT!!!
At STEP 4 you will need to advise your agent what stage you are at. When you alert her that you are on STEP 4 she will send an INT HIT to the Card. This is one of TWO times a well timed HIT will be needed.
The entire 5 steps take less then 10 minutes. I believe we clocked in at 6 mins. Its at this point that a EULA appears. You can scroll using the remote and read the EULA. The subscriber however is required to click AGREE before anything can proceed. But BEFORE they do that, here comes the 2nd INT HIT! Once you see the EULA pop up, inform your TAC agent. They will then send a 2nd INT hit to the card. This hit is now setting up the guide info, interactive info and On Demand libraries.
Now the customer can ACCEPT the EULA. When this happens the TV restarts and updates itself.
After that is complete the TV will do a 12 step process. Both of these can take anywhere from 20-30 mins at least.
1:00pm Thats pretty much it. You will be presented with a screen that will hang for about 5 mins and then BAM! Done.
Here are a few shots of the menus and screens. These can be found on the web or google easily. The guide is slick and polished. Moves about the same as the original guide, much more pleasant on the eyes! Now Ill make with some random shots and the Diagnostic Screens.
A closing Note- So all in all not bad for a brand spanking new technology. What will happen when we have to troubleshoot? How do we determin if the TVs tuner is bad, if the card is bad? How will the steps for swapping a card differ from a new install? More to come! I know this. The levels inside were within spec when we arrived. Obviously looking at what was outside there were numerous issues that presented themselves. What kept the levels in spec apparently was suck out dropping signal below all thresholds only to have an amp raise up dirty signal to show within spec. This is exactly what bites us a few days later when we find out our job repeated on us. Then a tech arrives, walks out back and thinks- "Who the hell was here last?" and goes about doing the job that we should always be the first ones to do. Inspect as much cable as possible when you arrive, take responsibility for what you see and leave it in a state that reflects your skills and integrity. Do this each day and you will find your job, your career regardless of what you do more rewarding each day.
More to come on Tru2Way, you betcha! We are just getting started with this technology. Docsis 3.0 is around the corner and we will once again be breaking new ground on the Next Generation of "Cable". Do we still call it that? Cable? Doesnt seem fitting anymore. -Happy Cabling Joe
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| Last updated ( Saturday, 22 November 2008 17:33 ) |
Tru2Way has hit two markets so far. Denver and Chicago. I was lucky enough to shadow an install in the Chicago market of Comcast. Luckily it was a non-event! Before I get into detail, for the tech, find a comfy spot to sit in the home because the provisioning side will take about 1/3 to 1/2 of your total install time. For the customer, get that kid a glass of water at least. Because he is nervous and hoping the one half of the install he has no control over goes smooth! As are we all. 
The fitting here was feeding the upstairs and hitting 3 tvs. No amp on that line but picture quality wasnt too great either. What you see to the left is weather damage and a bit of corrosion starting. Couple that with an unterminated line hanging off of an uneeded DC and you have a pretty horrible and ineffecient cabling system. All of which can be rectified in a good solid 5 minutes. 
